How difficult is the CaSB major compared to other bio or STEM majors?
It depends on what major you're switching in from and also what track you're planning on pursuing - the major is broad enough where you definitely can play to your strengths but you definitely need to have some kind of interest in cs or math because that's what most of the upper divs are going to be no matter what and what the heart of this field is. Out of all the bio/life-sciences related majors, CaSB is one of the harder ones except for bioengineering (and most engineering)
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This major covers a lot of breadth, but not too much depth. I would say if you’re interested in analyzing biological or chemical systems, and using computation to gain insight into that, then CaSB is a good place!
If you just want to do mainly CS/Data analysis, but then just work in a biotech field, then Stats/DS would be a good major as well. For example, a lot of grad students in the Computational Medicine department are CS grad students with their thesis/topic on a biological system.
What are the new tracks?
With this revision, CaSB students will choose from one of three tracks: Bioinformatics, Biological Data Sciences, or Dynamical Modeling. These areas represent different domains of computational biology/technical computing. Each track has a list of courses related to that area that are more computational or quantitative in nature. Students will be required to take 3 courses from their chosen track’s course list. In addition to these 3 more computational courses, students will also take 2 courses from a list of life science courses. The life science courses are organized into different categories, including: neurosystems, genetics and molecular biology, ecology, epidemiology, physiology, and biochemistry. Students can take both life science courses within one of these categories, or take one course each in two different categories. The list of approved life science courses is the same across all three tracks, allowing students in any track to apply their computational coursework to any of these biological areas. There will also still be an opportunity for students to propose a customized track for faculty approval, just as students are currently allowed to propose a customized concentration.
Which track is right for me?
Students who were previously interested in the Bioinformatics or Biological Data Sciences concentrations will likely find a lot of similar courses in those respective tracks. Students who were previously interested in the Biomedical Systems, Systems Biology, or Neurosystems concentrations will find similar courses spread out throughout the three tracks, as well as throughout the life science courses. The CaSB Counselor can help you determine which track best overlaps with a previously chosen concentration.
Students are encouraged to come to the forthcoming info session to learn more about which track might be right for them based on their interests, as well as consult with the CaSB Counselor.
Can I still propose a customized track (formerly concentration)?
Yes, customized tracks can still be proposed and approved by the faculty. For now, please see the CaSB website for general instructions. There are example custom tracks uploaded on our Resources page as well.